Riu Jalisco

Rooms need refurbishment, had several problems with the room which were sorted but not a great start to the holiday. Despite trying to eat in the steak restaurant 10 times we never got a table. The Mexican restaurant which was brilliant the first week was closed for most of the second week. The beach bar had one barman so a 20 minute wait was not uncommon, the beach restaurant which was the only place for lunch during the second week was full of cats and birds and the food poor quality. The burger bar was closed for the second week. The beach and the pools were not cleaned and plastic glasses left everywhere. Grounds of the hotel were well kept and clean shame this effort was not applied to the beach.

Traveled via Sunwing Mar 01 - 08. Had just returned from DR a couple weeks earlier, but saw this trip on the website, at the price we decided to go. Had a terrific flight/arrival time, so in Mx from Regina by about noon. We were impressed with resort immediately. Large, clean comfortable rooms - good plumbing. Fridge stocked daily. Many amenities - bars, buffets, specialty eats. No booking for a la cartes - 1st come 1st served, which we liked. Although less than 800 rooms it is a large property, so there is walking to do. Lots of beach to walk, if you wish & the water is fine although there are breakers that can knock you over. Probably the warmest pools we've ever been in at a resort - they were great. Food & service is excellent & very plentiful (3 egg stations for breakfast, for eg). Entertainment each night - some better than others, but still OK. Rated as 'very good value' as our all-inclusive was about 50% regular posted (Sunwing) rate. Would consider this one of the finest resorts we have been & would/will return sometime in the future

We just vacationed at the RIU Jalisco for our 2nd visit with the 1st being same time period in 2019. We had an early flight from Canada arriving at Puerto Vallarta airport at 1145am. No immigration forms on our Sunwing flight AGAIN but we had them filled out online as usual. The Immigration line was huge but staff directed us to a direct straight line as soon as we entered which bypassed the entire area of other guests. Baggage was fairly quick in coming but there was a large line at customs to wait in but it went smooth. Green light and from the time we landed until I was heading to Oxxo was about 35 mins so fairly quick. Bus took a while to load and we were on our way. Quick stop at RIU Palace to drop of 4 guests then to Jalisco. Checked in and given keys to our room at 130pm as it was ready. Had emailed ahead with a room request as we liked our location we had last year and we received the same room number. Rooms: Rooms at this location are in need of a refurbishment as they are showing their age. Maybe next renovation will allow this and rooms will be like the Vallarta. We had an actual 1pc King bed overlooking the center courtyard, 4th floor, 2nd last balcony before you get to the end suits. It was right beside the theatre and looked South. This room is located near the stairwell at the end of the building so allows for quick access back to the room after 60 steps in the stairwell, yes I counted them. Maid service was usually 1st thing in the morning and was average with a different towel animal every day. Fridge stocked daily and never used the optics in the room. Always fresh towels and extra pillows were brought on request. Initially the sink was very very slow to drain but after a phone call it was fixed. Dining: We ate at all of the a la cartes for our late meals during our stay. Mexican x2, Italian x2, Steakhous x2 and Asian x1. Never had to wait with a buzzer for our meal seatings. Main buffet for breakfast every day and the Beach buffet for lunch every day as well. Later in our 1 week stay the options for a la carte were starting to lessen as guests were fewer due to COVID-19 cancellations. The Italian was closed 2x at the end of our week and on our last night the Mexican was closed as well. Also the selection at the beach buffet seemed to be lacking later in the week also for lunch. Theatre: We sat and watched the shows nightly, some nights not the whole show. The day we arrived was the Neon Party which was well attended. Later in the week the guest numbers dropped at the shows due to occupancy. Also the last 1/2 of the week only one bar was open at the theatre. Pools: Checked out the new kids area that was recently completed and it is a great addition to the resort. Family pool still only has the one slide open, hoping this eventually gets changed to a swim up bar or they add a permanent bar on this side somewhere. We spent our time at the activity pool for the most part with some beach time also. Always there by 7am with my towels and cappucino and usually the 1st one there. By 10am most chairs occupied arount the front rows of this pool. Bar always busy and guests were having a blast. The activity staff was lacking in some areas this year. Last visit there was always a 3pm activity like crazy games, olympic games etc... later in the week the guests were still there and waiting but the staff would pop out to the music station talk among themselves and then disapear without trying to start an activity. Always had morning Boccee Ball and Horseshoes which I loved to participate in with the other die hards who showed up ever day....You know who you are and always attemting to beat Brian. Deffinately activites lacked later in the stay. Cleanliness and Upkeep: There does need to be some attention paid to these areas. Painting can be done all over in many areas , cleaning of building hallways and stairwells needs more attention. Pool decks and area need attention. The pool skimmers aroung the swim up bar pool were non operational around the entire pool. This is where the filters are located so is crucial to cleanliness of the pool water surface. The loungers located at the pools and mainly on the beach are filthy with dirt and grime. Last year on several occasions there would be staff with a pressure washer cleaning loungers at a grassy area. Never seen that happening this year and the cleanliness shows it. One thing I will say is be sure to give the lady who is cleaning the washrooms near the swim up bar and also mopping the area infront of walk up bar a tip, she works her but off. We did walk over to the Vallarta to check it out for a few hours. Nice renos and would love to stay in the new rooms. I felt the vibe and action at the Jalisco was better for us and we felt "at home" when we returned there after lunch back to Jalisco pool. Just our preference..... Would we return???? Likely would return but hopefully after some renovations that are needed. Always a good price compared to others, nice location, nice beach, friendly staff. Hoping that in the near future renovations are performed and in the present shut down time due to CIVID-19 that a deep cleaning and touch up is done in the public areas to brighten the place up again.